


By Any Other Name

by Shallw3run



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 06:43:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8787697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shallw3run/pseuds/Shallw3run
Summary: Rose Lavellan has always been gifted. The Anchor is one gift she isn't ready for. Cullen Rutherford is another.





	

Rose. Her name was Rose. Her mother had chosen that name because she’d always found the flower magnificent, always wished it were more common in the free marches where her clan roamed. She loved the varying shades, the delicacy of the soft petals, and the smell that accompanied them. She loved them so much, that she decided that if nature would not provide her with more roses, then she would have to carry her own with her.

And so she named her one and only daughter Rose.

The universe -taking a cue from the young elf’s namesake- made her elegant, and beautiful. She was small, with flared hips but an otherwise lithe figure. Her long hair was golden and waved like the rivers that cut through the land. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald with brown bursting from the center, the shape of her eyes sharp- like thorns. 

Like the petals of a Rose she was soft, kind, well liked among the people of her clan. She spoke eloquently, easily made friends, and was the first to soothe a panicked soul amidst a crisis. But, again, so much like the flower she was named for, if you were not careful, she might prick you. Despite being calm, she could be hot headed, sometimes too outspoken. She could weave intricate tapestries with her words, or a sharpened blade that was quick to cut someone. 

“Your temper is going to get you into trouble one day, ma’arlath,” her mother told her when she was sixteen as she cleaned her bloodstained knuckles.

“He was being so cruel to Thenar! Someone had to stand up for her!”

Her mother raised an arched eyebrow, her own green eyes as sharp as her daughters.

“Sometimes it’s better to keep your thorns hidden. Do not give people an excuse to trim them, Rose.”

“What?” the young elf asked, her face scrunching in confusion before she winced, her split knuckles stinging. Her mother smiled, bandaging her daughter’s hand methodically. 

“You’ll understand when you’re older.”

Rose had rolled her eyes to that. 

As she grew, she came to understand the lesson her mother had been trying to teach her. After hunting with Thenar, they were accosted by a small group of raiders. Thenar, upon Rose’s prompting, raced ahead to get help, leaving her companion to deal with the men so they would not pursue her. 

“She’s so small,” one said through his crooked teeth, smirking.

“Why don’t you just give us the deer?” asked the other, edging towards her. “I don’t want to have to kill you. I know you don’t want to fight us. Your friend certainly didn’t.”

Rose had struggled not to laugh. She kept her features molded into a mask of shock, terror, her eyes held wide. She nodded, stepping behind the dead deer that lay on the grassy forest floor. She and Thenar had been carrying it together, it being too big for only one of them to transport. Both of them approached it, sheathing their weapons. “That’s a good girl.”

When they were right in front of her, crouching over the deer, she reached out, expelling flames from her palm. She had not brought her staff on their brief hunting trip, so her magic had been limited. Fire was fire though, and the two were engulfed in the flames. They threw themselves backwards, their hair, clothes all ignited. 

She pulled her bow off of her back, aiming an arrow at the leg of the man with the crooked teeth, letting it fly. It lodged in his knee, and his howls of pain escalated as he continued to try and smother the flames by rolling in the grass.

They must have decided the deer wasn’t worth it, because as soon as they’d smothered the flames they scrambled to their feet, cursing, and bolting back the way they’d come. When Thenar arrived with her mother and a few archers, Rose had smiled, and slid her bow back over her head.

“It’s alright,” she’d said. “I took care of them.”

Now, at the age of twenty-five, as far as she knew she was prepared to take care of anything. She was a masterful mage, expert archer, a proficient tracker , capable at traversing the woods and hills, able to tell a dangerous herb apart from one with medicinal properties. One of the most useful members of the clan. She was so accomplished in most things that she’d even been entrusted with the task of spying on the fast approaching Conclave.

What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm still deciding if I want this story to be in first person or third person, but since this is sort of a prologue I figured it was okay for it to be in third person no matter which one I go with. I'll probably update this bi-monthly, but we'll see! I'm still pretty focused on my fallout story, meaning this story will be taking a backseat for a little while. Anyway, thanks for reading!


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